I laughed at the Lorax, "You poor stupid guy!
You never can tell what some people will buy."
--Dr. Seuss

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Repeated Random Caption Contest Blues

You've seen the warning. Are you sure you want to resubmit this form. What form? Where? Sometimes you're in a browser you haven't seen for months open to an unknown page. For some reason you click yes. What could happen? Then you realize what you did. Your caption for Contest #519 by Tom Toro is inadvertently submitted to Contest #530 by Peter Kuper. Oops.

In the Hollywood screenplay version of my life, when I commit a serious error like this, serendipity abounds. Unanticipated shades of meaning turn a mediocre caption from one contest into a sublimely-nuanced triple entendre in another and I am happily swept into finalist status for the first time. The whole town joins in my celebration. Restaurants offer me free champagne brunches and "Hamilton's" producers ask how many tickets they should send me.

The reality though is a bit different. The old caption, barely serviceable in the earlier contest, is utterly senseless in the new one. Simply put, this is not how the screenplay is supposed to go. Get me Rewrite!

Note: Remember, only you can prevent Caption Contest mishaps.

This is Peter Kuper's first appearance on the blog. Sorry, Peter. It was all one big mistake.